


All the Right Moves

by covacola



Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Angst, Betrayal, Break Up, Canon Relationships, F/M, Guilt, Jinx and Wally Break Up, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Betrayal, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:14:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23029159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/covacola/pseuds/covacola
Summary: Jinx is a Titan, now. She's good, she's a hero, and she's happy. She's happily in a relationship with the first person who ever recognized that will to be good within her. She's happy. She's proud of herself, so...So why does she feel so guilty? Why is she relieved at the news of the HIVE FIVE's escape? Why does she suddenly feel so guilty about fighting against her own-- against her former teammates?She says she's good, and she is. She says she's a hero, and she's trying to be. She says she's happy, and quite frankly, that's a lie.
Relationships: Jinx/See-More (DCU), Jinx/Wally West
Comments: 3
Kudos: 19





	1. Summary (Disclaimers, etc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is skippable, just covering the base of what this is all gonna encompass.

Jinx finds that while she really  _ doesn't _ want to be a villain anymore, she can't entirely bring herself to be a hero, either. And that maybe she wasn't as in love with Wally West as she thought. And that maybe she really does feel some semblance of loyalty or family or any other number of gross things she won't admit to to the Hive Five. 

Don't mistake, she does  _ want _ to clean up. And she does still have  _ feelings  _ for Wally, they just...aren't working out. And she  _ knows _ she's totally screwed up, and that the team won't forgive her so easily. 

She's not stupid, she knows this is a mess. A mess created from trying to do the right thing. And she's trying to fix it, while also trying to figure out if trying to do the right thing is even worth it now. 

But she does break. It isn't clean. It's messy and difficult and not what she wants to do but she can't stand staying any longer. 

She's got a long road. A lot of enemies. A lot of mess ups to try and fix. 

She's not stupid, just hurt. Too hurt to realize that more people really  _ do _ care about her than she realizes. 

This isn't a losing battle. She just doesn't realize that yet. 

* * *

Jinx's road isn't just going to lead her back to and explore the post-series HIVE Five. It weaves through and intersects with all of the other teens-- villain, hero, and in between. 

Part of this is just a love letter to all the stories we didn't see in the show. I have plans to bring back major names, like Terra and Red X, as well as minor characters that few people seem to remember or care much about, like Private (now Sergeant) Hive, Chesire, etc. 

I also really want to reiterate that this has  **no relation to any content past the show.** No comics, not the new series, nothing. Some things have been covered, others are still left blank, either way, nothing in this work will pull from that. That being said, this will obviously be very canon divergent as I am just building off of all the ideas I had as a kid about who these other characters are. 

The last note is that See-More/Jinx is gonna be the end game. Jinx and Wally aren't going to hate each other, but I always loved See-More's little crush and that's honestly why I even started thinking about this.


	2. Cracking

Jinx sighed, slumping onto the couch as soon as she got back. Training with the Titans had been tough. Getting an emergency call had been tougher. Seeing who they'd been up against had been nothing short of terrible. Watching them get taken away by the cops, that mutant boy yelling revenge and insults at her... That'd been almost unbearable. 

Kitten and Fang had escaped, just as so many of the other teen villains had, in the end. Yet unlike the others, they hadn't stayed in hiding for long. A simple bank robbery. She didn't know what exactly had possessed the couple to come out into the open, especially with all of the Titans-- local and extended-- still on high alert from the mass breakouts, and she honestly didn't want to know. 

She hadn't been any stranger to them, despite neither of them having attended the HIVE academy. She'd gotten to know them after their breakout not that long after Kitten's not so smooth attempt at making Fang jealous.  _ Honestly _ , she could have taken just about any good looking guy. A fellow villain probably would have been even better at sparking jealousy, too. Robin was cute, she couldn't deny, but  _ no one _ would ever expect  _ him _ to have a fling with Killer Moth's daughter, to be a real  _ threat _ . 

They'd escaped less than a month after that disaster. She'd know. There were only so many underground roads and camera free alleys villains could take, and while it wasn't necessarily common to cross paths along the dark side sidewalks, it wasn't unheard of, either. She'd run into the couple en route to a commonly used in passing hideout, an old building site who's project leading company had gone bankrupt, but was too expensive and inconvenient for anyone to want the land or contract now. So it sat, unfinished and abandoned save for the passing underbelly that drifted in and out of broken down plywood doors. 

Kitten had bribed her to let them hunker down at the HIVE's hang out. At first, she'd been insulted. Who brought outsiders to their secret bases? They're  _ secret _ . But Kitten had been uncharacteristically frazzled, just trying to lose the cops. Eventually, Jinx relented, and on top of not ever telling a soul, they owed them one. That night was one she wanted to forget now, the warmth of the heating lamps and smell of a rare treat to good, homemade food wafting back through the memory. 

Kitten had laughed at the insistence that nothing in their makeshift kitchenette worked. She shouldn't have been, Kitten being the daughter of a tech mind like Moth, but Jinx'd been totally thrown by how unabashed Kitten was about punching a hole through their drywall to fix the electrical stuff. That wasn't the kind of "tech" she'd been expecting Kitten to be good with, but, apparently, it was hard to get any contractor to do work such as building a space to house monstrous moth spawn. She and her father had done it themselves. 

Fang, as well, surprised her. It wasn't really viable for someone with a spider for a head to go undercover to do something as simple as buy takeout. Kitten had apparently regularly done grocery runs for him, and he'd become something of a cook over the years since they started dating. She'd had her doubts, but she also couldn't remember then when the last time she'd had actual  _ vegetables _ . And the stew he'd made still made her mouth water to think about. It'd lasted them three whole days, almost, after the couple left. 

She didn't want to think about these memories, about the quietly sad tone as they dodged answering where it was they were going now. It was a familiar song and dance for all of them, for any child villain. Kitten couldn't go home, and now neither of them could go out in public, but that wasn't all. Jinx, especially under current circumstances, didn't want to think about what it was like for those two. What I'd taken to keep a relationship-- messy and bonkers as it was-- for so long. What it'd been like going to jail and being forcibly separated. What it meant for them now, going back. 

It was easier to just know they'd done wrong, and not think about the greater moralistic questions. 

  
  


Wally closed the door behind him, walking toward their own kitchenette. Her stomach grumbled, and she sighed, knowing their fridge was empty. "Gonna call some take out, you feel like anything?" 

_ Some rich pork stew with and a stir fry of onions, carrots and brussel sprouts,  _ she thought. "Chinese," she said. 

He smiled at her, "usual then?"

"Yeah," she replied wearily. 

"Got it!" 

She closed her eyes, trying to tune everything out. She must've drifted off-- dreaming of distant laughter around a metal table recently wiped of dust, the alien feeling of actually being full after a meal, and the warmth of half remembered smiles-- because suddenly the doorbell rang. She shot up, eyes wide, panic flooding her as the internal alarm light pulsed red. _ Someone's found us. _

Wally scrambled up from the other side of the couch and opened the door, smiling and laughing with the star struck delivery boy, giving Jinx time to recover from getting spooked over what should have been nothing. She smiled as he unpacked the boxes, masking the feeling of her stomach sinking and failing appetite. 

He tucked in to his own food enthusiastically, broaching conversation with his mouth half full. "You did great out there today," he said easily. 

The sinking in her gut changed directions, instead curling in on itself and tying into knots. "Oh? I mean, it wasn't hard, it was just a robbery," she replied, forcing herself to take a bite. She kept all her focus on the wooden chopsticks in her hands. And keeping her hands from trembling. 

Wally shook his head, "still, that was a smart play, cutting their exit off." He laughed, "they had no idea what to do when the automated doors wouldn't open." 

Jinx looked away, trying to push back the sympathy for the expression she'd seen on Kitten's face when she'd realized they'd been  _ cornered _ . Not just by the Titans, but by  _ her. _ Anger, betrayal. Honestly, what business was it for her to look that way. They hadn't been friends. Villains had no friends. Just... Other teens who'd shelter them from the cops, who'd help clean and make them a meal out of thanks... No friends in the underworld. That was the first rule. 

She answered mechanically and forced herself to keep eating. Wally kept talking. Kept talking about Kitten and Fang in tones of triumph and disgust. Like they weren't even people. Like they were just--

They were just villains. 

Wally wasn't a bad guy, his own trust in and support of her was proof enough, but... She'd always secretly hated this side of him. This off handed, dismissiveness when talking about criminals. She couldn't ever bring herself to share that disdain that the others had. Not when she could still remember those nights spent in cold alleyways, hunger and fear making it impossible to sleep. Nights spent envying those people who were praised for their powers, who could use them openly, instead of being hated and forced into the shadows. 

But she wasn't that child anymore. She was fixing herself. Using her powers for the greater good instead of selfish evils. So why did this still feel so bitter? 

She stared out blankly into a corner of the room. She felt sick, felt guilty. This wasn't hard when she was fighting criminals twice her age. Nameless, faceless masses of drug pushers and weapons traffickers and whatever else scum that trickled up from the gutters. She didn't know them. That's why it was easy. 

"Hey?" Wally's voice came in a singsong tone, "hey?" 

"Hm?" She asked, shaking herself out of it, "yeah, sorry, what's up?" She gave him a smile. She hated how easy that worked on him. Hated more how it didn't work now. 

Wally eyed her, scrutinized her. It wasn't like him to be so serious. Her lip twitched. She wasn't usually into that sort of thing. On Wally, it'd been cute. But now, it was grating how she couldn't even take him seriously when he clearly was trying to be. "You...wanna tell me?" He asked slowly. 

"You," she held the word, mimicking his would be casual tone, "wanna play a guessing game?" 

Wally laughed, "guess not." He shook his head slowly. "You've been acting weird since you first saw them," she eyed him, eyes slitted, "Fang and Kitten, I mean." He sounded sheepish. 

Jinx felt anger flare up within herself. "What makes you say that?" The words were reasonable, her tone was not. Angry. Defensive. Oh hell she didn't want to be that. 

Wally put down his chopsticks and lifted his hands in a surrender, "alright, alright, I'm sorry." He shrugged, "you just... Seemed off after seeing them again." He eyed her for a moment. She let the silence hang, taking another bite. "You don't have to be afraid." 

Jinx nearly choked, coughing into a paper napkin and swatting him away when he tried to help. She gasped for air, eyes tearing up.  _ "What," _ she choked, still managing some of that old venom, "makes you think I'm  _ scared?  _ Scared of who? Who do  _ I  _ have to be  _ afraid _ of?" She said the last like it was so ridiculous that he should feel awful for asking. She immediately felt awful for it. 

But Wally didn't back down. Jinx had only met a few people who wouldn't backpedal at her wrath. (She brushed it aside, but all of those people on that short list were from the Five.) She respected him for standing his ground. "Some of, you know, the other villains you used to work with." 

Jinx blinked, almost offended. They didn't bring that up. Then she glared. Because they  _ didn _ 't bring that up. She opened her mouth to fire something back, probably something she would have regretted, so it was good he talked over her. "I got the wrong idea, though," he paused, waiting for her to settle, then added, sincerely, "I'm sorry, I just--" He seemed to pull back, thinking better of what he was gonna say. 

The hesitance only set her off again. "Just say it," she spat. 

He eyed her, then looked down. "I just... 'I want to protect you,' was what I was gonna say, but," she glared daggers, but let him talk, "what I  _ meant _ was that I want to be there for you when you need someone." He looked up at her, smiling his dumb, goofy, sincere smile, and she felt her heart melt. "I dunno if you've had too much of that in your life." 

She looked away. Not because she was tearing up. Okay, well, maybe she was, but... It wasn't... It wasn't comfort. It was hate. Pure, unbridled, self loathing hate. She  _ had _ had that. And she'd walked away from it. 

The guilt etched itself like a home done tattoo. A word plastered across her forehead that no one could see. No one but her and everyone she'd known before Wally. 

All her life, that damning phrase had been  _ bad luck. _ Now, though. Now it was a single word. 

_ Traitor. _


	3. Old Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I struggled a lot with figuring out how I wanted to string this story along. I always knew I'd have this subplot, but I just couldn't figure out how I wanted to write it out. Hope this isn't too jarring.

They were really banking on the cryofreezing to hold the villains, he guessed. Honestly, for “maximum security,” it was almost stupidly easy to get in. Well, for him. 

The villains were lined up in nice little rows, how convenient. He waited for his timed distraction to go off-- three, two, one-- and the alarms sounded. He squinted down at the guards-- poor bastards, having to guard  _ ice sculptures _ for hours on end. Guard them specifically from the likes of him. He almost chuckled, but he settled for a smirk under the mask. Annnd there it was, the call for backup as the seals he’d rigged were at this very moment spewing breathable air back into the vacuum the prisoners were kept in. 

Something like rust, apparently oxygen corroded the molecules keeping the cryo freezing agent in place. But instead of leaving unseemly stains, this sort of corrosion didn’t weaken the ice, it made it downright lethal. And  _ that _ was something none of them wanted. Luckily. 

But that also meant he had to act fast. Double checking his own newly installed breathing apparatus, he jumped down, quiet as a cat, and slung the sack from off his shoulder, readying both it and the homebrew anti-freeze gun he’d gotten off Kitten just days ago. 

He contemplated his options for a moment, a sick, twisted thought knifing through his gut like every other impulse that’d sent him down this path. But, as always, he fought it, opting to make the smarter choice-- smarter for his  _ real _ goals. He lifted the gun and pointed, one handed, breathing apparatus ready in the other, and unfroze Gizmo. The kid flailed, then gagged suddenly. He got the mask on the kid, but didn’t wait. He opted to free See-More next, Gizmo still struggling to get his bearings, a storm of “snot,” “crummy,” and other childish swears muffled behind him. 

See-More was equally shaken, but was surprisingly quicker on the uptake. He patted the mask, then merely nodded, single eye betraying a daze. Despite that, he felt at his own mask, then inspected Gizmo’s from where he kneeled. As X loomed over Kyd Wykkyd, one of the other less annoying ones, See-More reached a hand out. X looked him over, but then shrugged, handing him the biggest one, clearly meant for Mammoth. “Take care of the big guy, he’ll probably freak out less if it’s you rather than me.” See-More only nodded. X continued unpacking the one for Wykkyd, adding, “and you  _ can _ talk through these, you know.” Peripherally, he saw See-More only nod again. 

After those two, Billy was likewise revived. He let them take a few moments to gather themselves, pulling out the last mask, leaning over the person he’d  _ actually _ come here for. “So why the heck’re you helpin’ us,” came Gizmo’s voice. He gazed down, almost hesitant. His eyes were still open. It’d been a long time since he’d been close enough to see the blue in those eyes. “The two of us,” he found himself saying, eyes still locked with those frozen, “have history.” And with that dramatic proclamation, he revived Private HIVE. 

Private HIVE’s reflexes took over, arm coming up for a swift swing. X caught it easily. “You really gotta stop pulling your arm so far back when you throw a punch. Don’t matter how strong you are if I can see it coming.” The soldier’s eyes widened. But not in recognition. 

“What--?” And then his surroundings seemed to come back to him. He pulled free of X’s grasp, steadying himself and staring blankly at the rest of the Five. “So...?” 

“We’re getting out of here,” Red X said briskly, “come on.” 

And so they did, X slipping out like a shadow, leaving the Five to fight their way out, only occasionally sabotaging the reinforcements as they came, completely unseen. 

* * *

They make it back to the hideout in one piece, but it’s unfortunately now common knowledge that the HIVE Five have (also) escaped. He drops in on them just as they get to the entrance, each giving their own sounds of surprise mixed with annoyance. “Hey, hey,” he said, mock soothingly, “just makin’ sure the jobs done right.” Gizmo especially glared at him. See-More, on the other hand, only shrugged, letting him in. “Thanks, kid--”

“You said,” See-More said briskly, “that you have history.” He closed the door, looking back at his teammates. “With... Private Hive?” 

The Private stiffened, clearly shocked. He looked at the others in turn, more confused than anyone. 

Red X only nodded, and the gesture was surprisingly...humanizing. His shoulders slumped, and his whole demeanor became somehow so incredibly exhausted. He turned to Private HIVE, assessing him. “Do you...remember anything... prior to the Academy?” 

HIVE’s face grew tight. The rest of the room waited with baited breath. HIVE hadn’t ever talked about himself. He’d been a special recruit case. He’d had some sort of name, of course, but he’d started going by “Private HIVE” pretty early on. In all honesty, they knew next to nothing about him. 

“No,” was his only, stiff reply. 

X nodded, as if he’d expected as much. “Do you,” he asked slowly, “want to know?” 

“And what if I say I don’t.” HIVE was standoffish, almost defensive. 

“Then...” 

_ Then everything I’ve done is for shit.  _

“... I’ll bid you all ‘good luck,’ and hope to never see your ugly mugs again.” 

The rest of the Five grumbled, but HIVE’s eyes suddenly fluttered, the smallest of gasps denoting  _ something _ . 

_ Please _ . 

He shook his head, bitter expression re-placing itself. “Well, then I guess that’s that--”

“Wait, really?” See-More had piped up, having caught that sublest of shifts. “You’re not at all  _ curious?”  _

HIVE shook his head decisively. “Doesn’t matter to me, I’m not that person anymore.” 

X scoffed, “I’m sure that’s  _ exactly _ what they taught you to think.” Then he froze. He hadn’t meant to say it. It’d just...

“And what’s that s’posed to mean?” Billy asked suspiciously. 

X only shrugged, “you think Mother Mae Eye was the first to screw with your head? Especially with that gaping hole in your memory?” 

Private HIVE’s hands clenched into fists. This was clearly a sore subject, how easily he’d been hypnotized, manipulated over and over  _ and over-- _ “That’s none of yours--” 

“Oh really?! Because  _ I  _ think it is!” X suddenly burst out. 

HIVE fired right back, “Well  _ I _ , don’t. I don’t know what you think you know about me--”    
“Think?!  _ Think?!  _ My best friend gets thrown in a huge test tube and comes out a supersoldier with no memories--”    
“I said I  _ didn’t  _ want to hear it--!!”

“And I’m sick of calling you ‘Private HIVE,’ that’s such a fuckin’ mouthful-- Your name’s Eric!”

Stunned silence.

For a few seconds, there was only a shocked silence from HIVE. 

And then, stubbornly,  _ “was.”  _

He turned, and stalked toward their base’s kitchenette, opening up the mini fridge, already knowing all their food would be too bad to eat at this point. 

“Get out of here,” HIVE said forcefully. Mammoth prepared to give him an encouraging leer, but to their surprise, X spun on his heel, walking out. 

See-More was still blocking the door, still stunned by this turn of events. He glanced at HIVE’s back, then at X. He couldn’t see much by way of body language, and yet... He opened the door for X. The thief walked out without a word. Surprisingly, See-More followed him. Neither caught the groan, disgruntlement almost drowning out...the other things. 

“What?” X asked moodily.    
“I wanna hear it,” See-More replied evenly. 

Red X turned, glaring. “Not your story to hear.” 

“But someone should hear it.” 

X stared, mask not really hiding that his mouth was slightly agape. Then, he closed it with a click of his teeth, stalking off. See-More followed, gauging to see if X would try to lose or stop him. He didn’t. 

* * *

HIVE sat on the couch with a bag of stale chips he’d finally found, hungry and not very good at hiding how shaken he was.  _ Eric _ ,  _ your name’s Eric. _

His eyes fluttered, a blur of images he couldn’t quite make out flashing before him. He was used to this. The fuzzy memories that lingered after he’d broken a hypnotism, repressed memories trying to resurface. He wouldn’t let them. 

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He’d practiced this. Learned to take those dizzying images and press them back down. Except...

_ Except _ ...

He was curious... So instead of simply stomping them back down, he focused, visualizing a little floating screen, blurry, fuzzed out with static and decay, and mentally reached out, imaginary fingers just barely grazing--

He gasped, his whole body freezing up. He was having a fit. There were more than a couple yells. Billy had the sense to split, sending one of himself out to see if he could find See-More, and,  _ maybe _ \--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said, I struggled a lot with how to keep this subplot in. Originally, I wanted this all to just follow Jinx, but in the end I decided having aside perspective chapters like this was the only way to get the encompassing perspective I wanted. I will try to update this more often if y'all are still interested. Thanks so much for reading even this much, I really appreciate it. LMAO tbh when I was first plotting out who I wanted to be involved with Jinx's story (primarily, bc I want to include as many characters as possible) I just kind of binged back through the series and realized, wait, we never got any development for these two...Mine Now.


End file.
